


Out of His Element

by NovaGlitch



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Ice Skating, Lance is competitive, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, amazing tag right there, gay ice skating, keith loves it, so fluffy guys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-19
Updated: 2016-12-19
Packaged: 2018-09-09 17:55:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8905837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NovaGlitch/pseuds/NovaGlitch
Summary: “I bet I could do a jump.”“I bet you’ll land on your ass.”“I will not.”  Keith gives him a look.  “I mean, I might not.  I could try.”“And make me the winner of the game?  Who am I to stop you then?  Go on then.”  Keith jabs, knowing full well that that had gotten to him.  Lance is silent, so Keith turns to look at him.There’s confidence written all over his face, his jaw is set and he’s got his game-face on.  This isn’t going to be good.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Have some fluff~

“Where are we going?”

 

“You know, you ask a _lot_ of questions for someone who said they would just ‘ _go with the flow_.’”

  
“I said that before you blindfolded me and started dragging me all over the ship.”  Keith plays with the fabric tied around his eyes before he feels Lance’s hands swatting his fingers away.  He sighs in defeat.  “Where are we going anyway?”

 

Lance’s hands are back on his arm, pulling on his elbow a little more to lead him around a corner.  “I _told_ you, Keith, it’s a surprise.”  The last word drips off his tongue playfully, making Keith’s stomach churn with unease.  

 

“You know how I feel about surprises, Lance,” he mumbles, flinching at the disaster of a memory that was his surprise birthday party on the ship a few months ago.  Lance had pulled together a huge plan that included all of the paladins, with Allura and Coran more than happy to help as well, and meticulous planning.  It had seemed they had thought of everything: Keith’s favorite snacks (or recreations of them using whatever alien ingredients they could find to match Earth’s), a very organized birthday schedule with games and activities planned down to the minute, and even a huge cake that Hunk had slaved over for three days before he had finally been happy with the result.  To spare the details, it ended with cake on the er, well, everywhere, and Shiro’s trademark Disappointed Dad Sigh™.  

 

Lance doesn’t respond, perhaps recollecting the same thing, but the grip on Keith’s elbow doesn’t ease up one bit.  Keith’s still being dragged down corridor after corridor and it seems like they’re just going in circles, but Lance suddenly stops.  Keith carries forward from the momentum of being pulled and smacks face first into a wall, pain spreading across the bridge of his nose.  

 

“Oh, _shit_!” Lance’s hands are on his shoulders, turning him so they’re facing each other.  Keith can feel Lance’s hands fluttering over his face, inspecting any damage.  “Oh my God, are you okay?  I’m—I am so sorry.  I’m so so sorr-”

 

Keith holds up his hand, shutting Lance up.  “I’m good, but next time, please give me a little heads up, okay?”

 

“Yep, yes, of course...sorry.”  Though he can’t see it, Keith can hear the faint sheepish smile and the nerves laced in his voice.  It’s weird being blindfolded; without being able to see, he can hear things that he wouldn’t usually.  Like, for example, the way Lance’s voice has faltered into something completely unlike him.  Where there was usually confidence, there was anxiety, where there was excitement, now there was uncertainty.  

 

“Hey,” Keith softens his voice and reaches out to Lance.  “I’m okay, alright?”  He can feel the tension slightly lessen in Lance’s shoulders, but not totally dissipate.  “Now, what’s this surprise you’re taking me to?”

 

Lance hooks his arm through Keith’s —a little gentler than last time, Keith notes—and leads him into a different room.  “It’s through here!”

 

By the sound of it, Keith can tell it’s a bigger room.  It’s cold, touched by the chill of space, and full of echoes from their footsteps.  Lance’s words bounce off the walls and reverb back to them.  The room is almost familiar, but lacking something that really sets the bell off.

 

“Where are we?”  He asks, but he doesn’t have to wait long because Lance is already removing the blindfold and Keith’s blinking to adjust to the sudden brightness.  

 

“Ta-Da!” Lance gestures to the empty space in front of Keith, a huge smile matching the gleam of excitement in his eyes.  

 

Keith looks past Lance’s figure to an empty room, save for Blue sitting upright in the corner with her eyes bright yellow.  “Its—”

 

“The hangar!” Lance smiles, his excitement still at maximum as if the hangar was the most amazing place on the ship.

 

“Uh, yeah,” he laughs, mostly to fill the awkward feeling gnawing at him.  “The hangar...and?”

 

“ _And_ , my dearest Keith, it’s about to become the most amazing surprise you’ve ever received.”  He tosses Keith’s blindfold to the side and throws a thumb over his shoulder.  “Mostly thanks to Blue.”

 

As if responding to her name, Blue shifts in the corner and lowers her head in a nod.  

 

“Um, okay.”  Still not sure what in the hell is happening, but genuinely curious, Keith lets Lance take him by his hand and bring him over to where Blue is sitting.  There’s a beat of silence before Keith can’t help but ask: “Now what?”  

 

“Now comes the _real_ surprise.”  There’s something in his tone that creates a wave of excitement in Keith, something that makes him feel at ease.  Lance pats Blue’s front paw and stands back, Keith following.  “Blue, do your thing!”

 

Keith watches as Blue slowly stands, the gears of her limbs shifting into place noisily.  She takes a step forward, her head lowering to the ground, and soon, her body follows.   The way she’s standing reminds Keith of a predator, poised and ready to strike.  There’s a moment where nothing happens and Keith’s about to question it, but then there’s a blast of cold air that hits them, going right to Keith’s bones.  He jumps, stepping back in surprise.  There’s giggling beside him and he can’t help but level Lance with a half-heated glare.  

 

“Dude, it’s just cold air.  Calm down.”  He looks back out at Blue.  “Look.”  Keith stares at Lance for a bit longer before finally turning to look.  Lance gestures to the ground in front of Blue, now shimmering from the lights above and covered in solid ice.  

 

Blue takes another step forward, her mouth trained on the ground as a bright blue beam moves over the surface of the hangar, ice left in its wake.  It takes only a few minutes, but before Keith knows it, Blue has coated the entire hangar in ice and it’s even colder than it was before.  He rubs his arms absentmindedly, a slight chill making its way through his body.

 

“So?” Lance nudges Keith’s arm and gestures out to the shiny surface of the hangar, now converted into a makeshift ice rink.  “What do you think?  Pretty cool, right?”

 

Yeah, it’s super cool, like extremely cool...except for the fact that _Keith. Can’t. Ice. Skate._  

 

“How did you know Blue could do that?”  Stalling, yes, perfect.  Oh God, just the thought of face-planting onto the ice as Lance watches on makes Keith want to bolt out the door and eject himself into space.

 

“Well, I mean, I didn’t know she could do _this_ , but I did know she had an ice beam.  I haven’t really been able to use it in training for anything, so I’ve been experimenting.  She doesn’t seem to mind.”  He pats her paw as she walks past them, cozying herself up in the corner with her head resting on her front paws.  

 

“So, I’m guessing this is why you’ve been late to meetings recently?”  More stalling.  Good.  All Lance has to do is take the bait.

 

Lance scoffs.   _Bingo._ “Not my fault that Shiro schedules them right after free time, like, he really should expect that we’ll be late.”

 

“You’re the only one who’s ever late, Lance.”

 

“I wouldn’t be if the meetings were scheduled some other time.”

 

“Uh, huh.  Sure.  You and I both know that’s not true.”  He smirks to take some of the sting off of his words.  Lance isn’t looking though; instead he’s moving away to fetch something from beside Blue.  Keith cranes his neck to try and see, but Lance is returning before he can get a good look at whatever’s in his hands.  

 

“Here, put these on!”  A pair of red skates is shoved into Keith’s hands and Lance kneels down to yank off his shoes, throwing them to the side. “Pidge did a great job making these, don’t you think?  I don’t even know how she got my shoe size,” he pauses, thinking, “Oh my God if she went into my room without asking I swear.”  

Keith lets Lance ramble on, which he usually wouldn’t do, but in this case, Lance could talk the night away for all he cared.  Anything so he wouldn’t have to own up to the fact that he did not want to skate.

Lance pauses in the middle of lacing his skates to look up at a very frozen Keith, both in the literal and physical sense.  He eyes the skates in Keith’s hands before meeting his eyes.  “Well, go on then.  Put them on!”

 

“I, uh, Lance,” he clears his throat, embarrassment creeping in, “I can’t.”

 

His hands still in the midst of tying his other skate.  “You...can’t?”  Lance cocks his head to the side, bending one leg to sit up straighter.  He rests his arm on his knee, gaze dropping to the ground.  “Oh.”

 

“I’m sorry.”  Keith shifts the skates in his arm, the weight of them seeming to grow heavier like the tension between them.  

 

“Yeah, uh, that’s okay.”  Lance stands up, struggling a bit to stand on the thin blades of his skates.  He smiles, but it doesn’t make it to his eyes.  There’s a different expression in his features, something tense and forced.   

 

“You’re disappointed.”  It’s more of a statement than a question, but the way Lance crosses his arms and bites his cheek just confirms Keith’s suspicion.  “I’m sorry, Lance, I just…” He sighs, defeated, “I just don’t know how to skate and I don’t really feel like falling on my ass today.”

 

Lance’s attention snaps back to Keith, the disappointed expression gone entirely.  “Wait, wait, wait, hold on.”

 

“Don’t you dare make fun of me, Lance.”

 

“You’re telling me you don’t know how to ice skate?” There’s hope in his eyes, which sets Keith on the defense.  

 

“Yes and I don’t need you to rub it in my face—”

 

“No, no, no, nuh-uh, no way.”  Lance points to the skates in Keith’s arms.  “You’re putting those on.”

 

“What?” Keith huffs, not really up for a fight.  Sure, they’re both competitive and knowing Lance and his one-sided rivalry, Keith is sure that he would never hear the end of it if he made a fool of himself on the ice.  “I’m not going to skate if all you’re going to do is make fun of me—”

 

“No, no, you don’t understand!” Lance gestures to himself wildly, Keith raises an eyebrow.  “I can’t skate either!”

 

“Wait, what?” That’s actually extremely surprising considering the way he fights, graceful and light on his feet despite his lanky limbs.  Keith could actually picture Lance as an ice skater, so to hear that he was in the same boat catches him off guard.  “You don’t know how to skate?”

 

“Psh, God, no.  I always thought that if I could roller-skate, I could ice skate, but fourteen falls and a trip to the E.R. at two in the morning later, I knew that they were two completely different skillsets.  Didn’t stop me from trying though.”  He clicks his feet together, almost falling in the process.  

 

“So, I guess we’re in the same boat here, huh?” Keith smiles, feeling more relaxed.  Here he was thinking that he’d be making a fool of himself in front of Lance when in actuality, they could be fools together.  

 

“Guess so.” Lance returns the smile and this time it’s genuine.  “Now, get those skates on and let’s go!”  

 

Once Keith is all laced up, he takes a tentative step onto the ice, a vice grip on Lance’s shoulder in front of him.  It takes him a moment, but soon both feet are on the ice and he’s doing it, he’s teetering from one foot to the other, shifting his weight so he can move, he’s—oh no, oh God, he doesn’t got it, he’s slipping—

 

Lance grabs his arms to steady him, a gentle smile of encouragement on his lips.  “I’ve got you—” His foot catches on some unseen object and he’s about to fall backward, but Keith grabs his shoulders.  

 

“And I’ve got _you_.” He smirks, inching forward onto the ice with Lance’s hands on his biceps and Keith’s on Lance’s shoulders.  From anyone watching outside of this moment, they’d look ridiculous right now, both of them clinging to one another so they don’t fall.  They’re leagues away from looking even remotely good at ice skating, but Keith doesn’t care.  He doesn’t really mind Lance’s hands on him either, he rather enjoys it.  Not that he’d ever tell Lance that though.  

 

After a little bit more shuffling, they’ve made it to the middle of the rink.  They stop, but don’t even think of letting go.

 

“What now?” Keith lets out the breath he’s been holding when he’s sure there’s no way he’s going to fall.  There’s a gleam in Lance’s eyes that makes the worry creep back in.  He knows that look; it’s the same one he gets when—

 

“First one to fall loses!” Lance pushes back, his arms flailing wildly to keep his balance and he does, but by some miracle, so does Keith.

 

 _The competitive bastard._ “ _Really_ , Lance?” Keith grits his teeth, setting his feet apart to steady himself.  “Don’t do that.  I almost fell.”

 

“And you would have lost.” He winks, attempting the finger guns but almost falls backwards.  His smirk turns to fear in .001 seconds flat and Keith stifles a laugh.  

 

“Oh, _I_ would have lost?”

 

“Shut up,” Lance mumbles, regaining his footing.  “Game starts now.”

 

They both stand there, not moving in the slightest.  

 

“One of us is going to have to move at some point,” Keith says after a full minute of just standing still.  Lance nods in agreement.  

 

They both take a step forward at the same time, but it’s rough, both of them flailing to hang onto anything within their reach.  It’s Lance who recovers first and takes another bold step forward before he’s pushing off one foot and onto the other.  He glides across the ice, but that’s the only part that’s graceful about it; he’s stiff from the waist up.  Keith’s still fighting gravity, his body contorting in many awkward directions in order to stay on his feet and win this dumb game Lance has initiated.  

 

Lance skids to a stop in front of Keith, almost colliding with him.  “I think I’m getting the hang of this.”

 

“Good for you,” Keith grounds out, his eyes glued to his feet.  

 

“First of all,” Lance lifts Keith’s chin, so Keith meets his eyes, “don’t look at the ice if that’s not where you wanna end up.  Second of all,” he brushes Keith’s shoulder to smooth out his jacket where it had scrunched up, “loosen up.”

 

“Yeah, I’ll get right on that, Mr. I-can’t-go-five-seconds-without-making-something-a-competition.”  His tone is dripping in sarcasm, but to Keith’s surprise, Lance doesn’t fire a quip back.  Instead, Lance is moving behind him and pulling his shoulders back.  “Whoa—what are you doing?!”  His arms lunge out to grip the air, but it’s useless.  “I’m going to fall!”  


“You’re not,” Lance’s voice is right by his ear and Keith shivers, “Just lean back and trust me.”

 

Despite the anxiety and fear plaguing Keith’s mind, he does as Lance tells him and tries to relax.  Once he’s more upright and not hunched over, he breathes out.  

 

“Good?” Lance moves to the side of him, his hand still on the small of Keith’s back to brace him.

 

Keith checks himself, no longer feeling like he’s fighting gravity.  “Yeah, I think so.”  Lance doesn’t move his hand and Keith doesn’t find it in himself to mind.  They take a step together, pushing off one foot and letting the other glide across the ice.  The next step is a bit smoother than before and Keith feels the nerves slowly wash away.  

 

“See?  It’s not too hard.”  Lance moves in closer, both of them taking the next step in sync.  

 

Keith smiles, his eyes drifting to the ice every so often before he remembers what Lance said.  He can feel the blush creeping up his neck and onto his cheeks, but he hopes Lance just chalks it up to the cold.  The hand on his back is a comforting pressure, one that Keith feels himself leaning into.  

 

They skate together, Lance beside Keith all the way.  It’s nowhere near graceful, that’s for sure, but they’re trying.  They have a few hiccups, blades catching in a groove or toe pick nicking the ice by accident, but they don’t fall.  As they go around and around, their pace starts to quicken, both more confident with every passing second.  

 

“I bet I could do a jump.”

 

“I bet you’ll land on your ass.”

 

“I will not.”  Keith gives him a look.  “I mean, I might not.  I could try.”

 

“And make me the winner of the game?  Who am I to stop you then?  Go on.”  Keith jabs, knowing full well that that had gotten to him.  Lance is silent, so Keith turns to look at him.

 

There’s confidence written all over his face, his jaw is set and he’s got his game-face on.  

 

This isn’t going to be good.

 

Lance steps away from Keith, the latter trying not to show the disappointment he feels from the loss of Lance’s hand, and steps forward.  Keith watches on as Lance set up, his whole body ready to take off.  When he steps off of his foot and onto his other, it looks like he’s got it.  He’s picking up speed, his arms swinging at his sides for momentum, and he’s preparing for the jump and he’s leaping off the ice—

 

And he lands.

 

Well...almost.  

 

His skate catches in a groove after he’s landed the small hop and he trips, hands lunging forward in order to keep himself from kissing the ice.  

 

“That doesn’t count—”

 

“Oh, I think it does—”

 

“It does _not_ —”

 

“Does too.”

 

“I bet you couldn’t do much better.”

 

“Is that a challenge?”  Keith doesn’t even have to ask, already knowing what Lance is going to say.

 

Lance matches his smirk.  “You know it is.”

 

As Keith looks at the ice in front of him, he curses himself.  Allura sure was right when she said he was impulsive because he has just backed himself into a corner.  Why did he even challenge Lance?  The idea had been to _not_ fall and of course Lance got the best of him…

 

This was going to be bad.

 

Keith sets up, trying to match what he saw Lance do before his jump.  He can feel Lance’s eyes on him, but he does his best to ignore him.  He’s got this...maybe.

 

He breathes in, his eyes closing for just a moment, before he takes off down the ice.  He’s faster than Lance was, surprisingly, but he’s still unsure on his feet.  That doesn’t stop him though, the adrenaline that only comes from a challenge coursing through his veins, pushing him to go faster, faster, faster—

  
And he jumps.

 

_And he lands._

 

“How in the hell— _what_?”  Lance is already beside him, mouth agape.  “How did you do that?”  Keith tries to talk, but Lance isn’t done.  “You’re a professional ice skater, aren’t you?  And you’ve just been playing me this whole time and I fell for it.   _Oh_ my _God_.”

 

Keith laughs, feeling the blush creep up into his cheeks.  “I don’t know?  Beginners luck?”

 

“Bullshit.”  It’s without venom, Lance’s smile completely contradicting his response.  “Didn’t know you had it in you, Mullet.”  He smacks Keith’s arm playfully.  “Bet you couldn’t do it twice in a row.”

 

“I’m not taking that bet, nope.”  Keith shakes his head.  He takes Lance’s hand, relishing in the blush that tints his cheeks.  “Let’s just skate; no more competitions, no more games.”

 

“Well that’s no fun.”  Lance falls into tandem beside Keith as they take it slowly around the rink, more confident now but still not taking any chances.  Their hands are still intertwined, both fighting the blush that stains their cheeks, but it feels normal.

 

It feels _right_.  

 

Keith squeezes Lance’s hand, too shy to look over and see his reaction.  Lance reciprocates, and out of the corner of Keith’s eye, he swears he sees Lance move in closer.  

 

It’s quiet for a while, both slowed down to a snail's pace, Lance drifting side to side.  

 

“By the way...” Keith breaks the silence, sneaking a glance over at Lance to give him a small smile, “I liked this surprise.”  Lance beams, his grin so wide that Keith can’t help to smile even more (as if that’s possible).  “But next time, let’s bring warmer clothes, yeah?”

 

Lance shivers on cue and then does a double take as if what Keith had said had just sunk in.  “Wait, next time?  You want to do this again?”  There’s the hope in his voice again, genuine surprise overtaking his expression.

 

“Well you’re not going to land that jump without practice, now are you?  Good thing I’m a _great_ ice skater and can teach you.”  The sarcasm in his voice is so heavy that even Lance rolls his eyes.

 

“Don’t let that go to your head, Red, I’m still faster than you.”

 

“No you’re not.”

 

“Oh, but I am.”  There’s that tone again…

 

_Oh no._

 

“Lance, wait—”

 

“First one to five laps wins!”  Lance takes off down the ice, leaving Keith in the dust.  

 

Keith stands, frozen in his spot.  It takes a moment for him to register what just happened before he’s calling after Lance.  “I thought we said no more compe—oh never mind.”  Rolling his eyes, Keith takes off after him as fast as he can go.  

 

It’s funny, really.  Keith and Lance, fire and ice, two elements on separate ends of the spectrum; both are equally powerful in their own abilities and environments until they come together, balancing each other out perfectly.  There’s push and pull between them, competitions and games, one side becoming more dominant than the other and resulting in some strain, but that’s the way they work.  They’re perfect together.  Fire and ice.  Keith and Lance.  

 

As Keith races to catch up to Lance, who’s not that far ahead of him and slightly wobbly on his skates, he laughs to himself.  Everyone would say that competitions between two people are toxic, that it’ll break them apart, but that’s not the case for them.  Not at all.

 

When they push each other, they make each other better.  

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Comments and kudos are appreciated <3
> 
> Come talk to me on tumblr [@lancemcclains](http://www.lancemcclains.tumblr.com)! :)


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